Voting is still underway on election day (October 27, 2026). Polls close at 10:00 p.m. and exit polls are expected shortly afterwards. Full official counts (including special “double envelope” votes from soldiers, etc.) take longer, with official results due by around November 4.⁠ Record turnout: About 66.7% of eligible voters (out of ~7.3 million) had voted by 6 p.m. local time—the highest figure at that hour since tracking began in 1973, and higher than in 2022. Turnout has been especially strong in Arab communities.⁠ The Central Elections Committee rejected a request from Netanyahu’s Likud to extend voting hours nationally. Stations stay open past 10 p.m. only for people already in line.⁠ Netanyahu has made repeated claims of potential fraud or “stealing” tied to high Arab turnout; election officials have rejected multiple foul-play claims.⁠ Pre-election polls (final surveys allowed under Israeli law, mostly from Friday, Oct 23–24) Neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc nor the main opposition bloc was projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Typical ranges: Yashar (Gadi Eisenkot, former IDF chief of staff): ~22–23 seats (often the largest party). Likud (Benjamin Netanyahu): ~19–21 seats. B’Yachad / Together (Naftali Bennett): ~11–15 seats. Other notable parties: Joint List ~8–9, Democrats (Yair Golan) ~8–10, Yisrael Beytenu ~8, Otzma Yehudit ~8, Shas ~7–8, UTJ ~7–8, Religious Zionism–Zehut ~6–7, Ra’am ~5–6. Blocs (approximate averages): Netanyahu’s right/religious bloc ~48–53 seats; anti-Netanyahu Zionist parties ~51–56; Arab parties (Joint List + Ra’am) ~14–17. Small parties near the 3.25% threshold (e.g., Reservists-Economic or Amcha Yisrael) could shift a few seats either way.⁠ This is the first full-term election since 1988 (after the 2018–2022 series of snap elections) and the first since the October 7, 2023, attacks and subsequent wars. Coalition talks are expected to take weeks or longer, regardless of the seat totals; finishing as the largest party does not automatically grant the mandate to form a government.